Emmanuel Macron’s office dropped a bombshell in Davos: France wants NATO to stage full-scale military operations in Greenland and stands ready to contribute maximally. Trump’s incoming Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wasted no time, telling reporters the French should fix their ‘shaky budget’ before meddling in Arctic affairs.
Reports from Macron’s team confirmed the Wednesday push for drills in the resource-rich territory. Confronted in Davos, Bessent delivered a pointed message: ‘Macron ought to concern himself with France’s economic state and care for his people amid those budget troubles.’
Context is everything here. Trump plans to leverage the World Economic Forum to advance his Greenland ambitions, ignoring European resistance. Macron’s prior speech vowed Europe wouldn’t cower before threats, directly targeting Trump’s tariff ultimatums as ‘idiotic’ aggression. He shot down Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ as unworthy of replacing UN mechanisms.
Alliance heads in Davos flagged Trump’s approach as a potential alliance-breaker. Adding fuel, Trump publicized text exchanges where Macron and Rutte lauded his peacemaking.
This episode lays bare transatlantic strains: U.S. frustration with European spending habits meets French assertiveness in contested regions. As climate change unlocks Arctic potential, such maneuvers could reshape NATO’s future role.